ROCHESTER, NY – During the winter 2014 checkout scanning campaign at 24 Wegmans stores in Massachusetts,Buffalo and the Southern Tier of New York, and parts of Pennsylvania, hunger relief donations soared to $973,242, a 5.3% increase over the winter 2013 total. Check Out Hunger allows customers to donate $2 $3, $5 or any other amount at checkout with 100% of the proceeds going to each store's local food bank.

“We’re thankful for the kindness of our customers and employees. They’ve responded just as caring neighbors do, by giving generously to help their communities,” said Linda Lovejoy, Wegmans community relations manager.

The food banks that will receive donations are listed below with the amount raised, and in parentheses, the Wegmans stores that raised money for them:

The winter campaign ran at various dates from January to March. Timing of the annual checkout scanning campaigns varies by region. The remaining Wegmans stores in Maryland, New Jersey, the Greater Rochester region of New York, Eastern Pennsylvania, and Virginia run annual checkout campaigns during the fall season. Wegmans stores in the Greater Syracuse region of New York are in the midst of their spring campaign.

Hunger relief scanning campaigns raised a total of $2.7 million at Wegmans in 2013. Since these programs began in 1993, Wegmans has raised more than $24 million for hunger relief.

In addition to money raised for emergency food services in 2013, Wegmans also donated 16.5 million pounds of food to local food banks, food pantries, and soup kitchens across all of its market areas.

##

Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is an 83-store supermarket chain with stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts. The family-owned company, founded in 1916, is recognized as an industry leader and innovator. Wegmans has been named one of the ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ by FORTUNE magazine for 17 consecutive years. In 2014, Wegmans ranked #12 on the list.